Sharon Osbourne brother desperate to heal family rift to help Jack with his MS

They have spent years locked in a feud over the memory of their late father – and now Sharon Osbourne’s brother wants to heal the rift

Bourne again: Sharon's brother David wants to clear the air with Sharon and family

They grew up together, cutting their teeth at the sharp end of the music business with their tough pop mogul dad.

But they have spent years locked in a feud over his memory – and now Sharon Osbourne’s brother wants to heal the rift.

David Arden hopes to reunite the whole showbiz family for the sake of nephew Jack who has multiple sclerosis – just like him.

The 62-year-old, the X Factor judge’s older brother, says: “I’m the only other person in the family that has it – I know when I was first diagnosed I wanted to speak to fellow MS sufferers, I’m sure Jack feels the same.

“I’m not entirely sure what will happen, but before I die it would be wonderful to see the family back together again.”

Sharon, 61, and David’s relationship fell apart after a row over where their father Don – dubbed the Al Capone of Pop – should be buried and following claims in her book that her parents were negative role models.

David said his father’s dying wish was to be buried next to his wife in Surrey but Don – who managed Ozzy’s band Black Sabbath – was laid to rest near his mum in Manchester.

As a result he is no longer on speaking terms with Sharon, Ozzy, 64, or their children 28-year-old Jack, Kelly, 29 and Aimee, 30.

Wenn

Emotional: Sharon Osbourne

In her book Unbreakable, she wrote: “My role models were not only negative, they were positively destructive.

“A mother who couldn’t be arsed to get out of bed to give us breakfast; a father who lied and cheated all his life and for whom I was a useful fall guy – whose word had no more substance to it than a drug addict’s promise.”

But David says his own memories of their childhood are entirely different.

“I am sick and tired of Sharon bad-mouthing our parents. It’s really distressing.” he says. “This has got to stop. I’m prepared to make peace with her for the sake of Jack.

“I’m battling the same illness and I want to try and be there for him.”

He adds: “Sharon said she was unloved by our mother and has said some awful things.

“She has said some awful things about our father too.

“He was loved and hated by people that’s true. But I can tell you he adored Sharon, he protected her from the world.”

And he hopes the siblings can finally put their falling-out behind them.

“We have had some wonderful times together,” he adds. “I know Sharon has different memories to me but I remember us having lots of fun and being cared for dearly by our parents.

For years he toured round the world with Sharon and their family business, enduring painful cramps, loss of vision and severe fatigue. At the time he put it down to overwork and too much coffee.

Matt Sprake

Sister act: Sharon plays fool aged 16 with Don, mum Hope and David

And he recalls a bad episode in 2003 when he was visiting Sharon.

He says: “I remember flying to LA about 10 years ago because Sharon wanted to see me.

"Before boarding I had a strange thing going on in my mouth. When I got off the plane my face dropped – they call it Bell’s palsy, it was pretty unsightly.

“When Jack saw it he said ‘holy s***’. They sent me down to the doctor and I got scans.

“They said it was Bell’s palsy and said it would go down. I remember Jack being really stunned by it. But I just got on with it.

“Ozzy, who is an amateur doctor, said: ‘If that happened to me, I’d be horrified and you wouldn’t get me out of the house until I was better.’ They were really worried about me.”

David, a dad himself, was finally diagnosed with relapsing remitting MS in 2009 and was horrified when he discovered Jack, who’s currently appearing in the American version of Strictly Come Dancing, had been diagnosed last year.

Now he wants to be there to support Jack in his battle with the illness.

He says: “There is a lot of bad blood but I am prepared to put that aside to help Jack.

“I remember when I found out Jack had been diagnosed, I had come back from having wonderful treatment at the Chelsea and Westminster in London. I had all these steroids pumping into me.

“Then a dear friend of mine called me and said ‘can you believe it, your nephew’s got MS’. I was like ‘holy s***’. It was awful to hear that he was diagnosed.

“I have been living with it for a long time now and nobody else in the family has it. I’d love to give him advice but I wouldn’t want to put him under pressure to defy Mummy.”

David admits that the disease flares up when he is stressed and warns Jack, who has 18-month-old daughter Pearl with wife Lisa Stelly, to keep away from stressful situations as much as possible.

“Jack is a great soul and the greatest thing is he is married with a kid” he says.

“If he can avoid any stress he will deal with everything a lot better.”

But David knows his own future is uncertain as the disease develops over time.

He says: “I’m just taking every day as it comes at the moment. I know I will deteriorate, I can feel my body getting older and it, the MS, hits me harder now. I previously lost sight in one eye but it came back, just like what happened to Jack.

“I’ve been dealing with constant fatigue and I know when an episode is coming on.

“Those are things that, unless you have it, you really can’t relate to.”

He adds: “I have to live a clean life. I have to sleep in a certain way and drink lots of water, Jack should try and do the same.”

Family issues: The Osbournes

David has been told that his condition will deteriorate and he is too old to receive any effective medication. But he says that there is more hope for younger MS sufferers.

He also wants to reach out to niece Kelly, who suffered a seizure earlier this year.

He says: “There are lots of drugs which can keep it under control but they only work for younger people. Past 40, the effect of the drugs get less and less. There is nothing they can do.

“I’ve been taking aspirin for the past 10 years anyway so I thought I’ll just keep on doing that.

"At some stage I will deteriorate and the disease will really hit me. But before that happens I want my daughter and her daughter to be able to talk to Jack, Kelly and Aimee.

“I also want to be there for Kelly, I know she had a tough time earlier this year. I do love those kids and I have nothing but good things to say about them.”

David says he doesn’t want to remain bitter. “Believe it or not, Sharon is my sister and I love her. There is still the girl that I knew which is part of her.

“She is very generous and genuinely kind. Forgiveness is very important.”

“I know Sharon will probably not want to hear from me but I wanted to reach out to Jack.

"He is a lovely man and Kelly and Amy have grown into wonderful young women.

"In an ideal world we could sit down together and talk through these issues we have and move forward.

“Getting older and dealing with a disease like MS makes you realise what is important in life.

"It’s about the people around you and living every day the best you can.”